WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Steelers currently have just two quarterbacks - veterans Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson - on their roster.
With that in mind, head coach Mike Tomlin said Sunday here at annual NFL meeting at The Breakers that the team is still willing to explore all avenues to fill out its roster at that very crucial position.
"We're still evaluating the acquisition of a guy at that position, whether it's free agency and/or the draft, and so we're doing our due diligence, communicating with some free agents, also preparing for the Draft," Tomlin said. "(GM) Omar (Khan) and I just got off on a nice tour here last week where we were at Notre Dame, Ohio State and Texas, for example, our last three trips. I think all three of those institutions have quarterbacks that are draft-eligible, and so it's been a good process for us."
As for his preference on who the Steelers might add at the position and where that player might come from, Tomlin doesn't have one.
One thing we do know is that the team will have a different quarterback room in 2025 than it had in 2024, which included Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Kyle Allen. And that quarterback room was completely different from the one the team fielded in 2023, though Rudolph was part of that group, leaving in free agency for a season with the Tennessee Titans before rejoining the Steelers this offseason.
"Oftentimes, I say 'two is a pattern.' It's a cliche that I use in coaching, but I don't know that I'm alarmed by that as it pertains to this discussion," Tomlin said. "We're just simply trying to put together the very best team that we can put together for 2025. Last year, we had a group in that room that were on one-year deals, and so the possibility of what we're doing right now was a real thing. But that's just one isolated scenario. If we're having similar conversations next year at this time, it's probably more of a discussion for us."
In addition to Rudolph, the Steelers have brought one other veteran quarterback in for a visit - Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers, who spent the last two seasons with the Jets, spent a day with the team recently, and Tomlin said there is no deadline on the 41-year-old future Pro Football Hall of Fame player making a decision regarding his plans for 2025 at this point.